Injury claim payouts to children hurt at work surge

Two boys under the age of 15 suffered “severe” injuries while they were doing work known to be high risk and “inappropriate” for children, according to a new report. The boys are now permanently disabled.

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Claims payouts to children injured on the job soared in the last few years to a high of more than $600,000 in 2012, says a new report.

The increases were largely due to two very serious incidents involving boys under the age of 15, says First Call B.C., a coalition of 90 organizations that advocate for children and youth.

The details of the incidents cannot be released in order to protect the boys’ identities, but the injuries were “severe” and occurred while the boys were doing work known to be high risk and “inappropriate” for children, says the First Call report. The boys are now permanently disabled.

In all, $1.1 million in disability claims have been paid since 2003 for on-the-job injuries to 179 children, accroding to WorkSafeBC data cited in the report.

“It’s a horrible picture and I think we need to fix it,” said Helesia Luke, who helped put together the report released Thursday called Child Labour is No Accident: The Experience of B.C.’s Working Children.

While total disability claims for 12 to 14 years olds have been dropping, the severity of the two 15-year-olds’ injuries shows that the B.C. Liberal government’s 2003 changes in child labour laws have failed, said Luke.

The changes removed a permit requirement for children working under 15, which was replaced with a letter from parents giving consent.

“When the law changed it served to identify 12 to 15 years olds as a new pool of labour in the B.C. economy,” Luke said.

Some provinces have tougher restrictions, including on the type of work that children under 15 can do, she noted.

In Alberta, for example, children under 15 cannot work in the resource, construction and manufacturing sectors, she said.

“In a healthy society, children go to school, and adults go to work,” said Luke.

With the release of its report, First Call B.C. called for the province to establish a minimum work-start age of 15 and impose restriction on occupations, tasks and times of day that children can work.

The group also called for increased inspections of child work sites, a child labour advisory group and better tracking of child employment.

First Call’s report brought together original research, including surveys and interviews with 129 children who were working, and information from a 2008 Adolescent Health Survey of 29,075 grades 7 to 12 students conducted by the McCreary Centre Society in collaboration with the provincial government.

The First Call survey and interviews with the 129 children throughout B.C. found 43 per cent reported being injured on the job.

One 12-year-old was injured with burns down the front of his body from battery acid, a 13-year-old broke a wrist and hurt his back in a fall and another child received blistered fingers from a burn on a grill.

Sixty per cent of children surveyed or interviewed started work at 14 or younger, but only 24 per cent reported a parent had given written consent.

For the purpose of the study, activities like babysitting or dog walking were not considered a job.

NDP incumbent Shane Simpson said the report confirms his party’s concern the Liberal changes opened the door to child labour.

Simpson said it’s why the New Democrats have included in their election platform a return to children under 15 needing the approval of their parents and the director of employments standards.

“It’s making clear that the age that young people can go to work is 15, and anything under that is the exception and not the rule,” said Simpson.

He said the NDP would also examine, with the help of consultations, whether it’s necessary to put limits on the occupations children can work in.

B.C. Liberal Party spokesman Sam Oliphant said his party takes workplace safety seriously, noting that working youth provide an enormous amount of value to the economy.

“We believe giving parents and families the flexibility to make these decisions themselves is the right approach,” he said.

Philip Hochstein, president of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association of B.C. and a supporter of the 2003 changes, said the numbers are surprising and he’d like to know the story behind them.

Hochstein said he doesn’t know what’s driving the increase in severity of accidents among children.

“I’ve not heard of those incidents in my industry (construction). In our industry, owners sometimes bring their kids to work. Certainly, they wouldn’t put them in harm’s way,” he said.

Hochstein said he still favours parents deciding whether or not their children should work, “not the government.”

“I’m confident in parents deciding in the best interests of their children.”

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Injury claim payouts to children hurt at work surge

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